One Christmas Eve
by SingerMe
Summary: Matt spends a Christmas Eve unlike any before.
1. Chapter 1

**One Christmas Eve**

I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had.

**OCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCEOCE**

**(Set in Season 8) **

"Oh, come on, Matt." Blue eyes pleaded. "Its not like I'm asking you to do anything major. Just go with me out to the Ronniger's to deliver presents."

They'd been standing in the jail for the biggest part of an hour while Kitty tried unsuccessfully to get Matt to take her out to the Ronniger's the next morning to deliver Christmas presents. Though it was cold, the weather had been fairly clear and the town had been pretty quiet. Kitty thought it the perfect time to get away for a day. Matt had disagreed.

"Kitty," Matt sighed in irritation. "I can't. I told you. I have a gold shipment coming in and I have to be here for it."

"Matt," Kitty was getting frustrated. "That gold shipment isn't due in till midnight. If we leave early in the morning, we can go out there, deliver the presents and be back long before then. We don't have to stay all day, just a couple of hours. Please?"

For just a minute he came close to caving, but his sense of duty to his badge not to mention the inclement weather convinced him otherwise. "No, Kitty." The tone of his voice and the rigidity of his posture gave her to understand that the discussion was over.

Kitty could see she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. He was as immoveable as a mountain when he wanted to be. "Fine," she snapped. "I'll go alone." Snatching her reticule from his desk, where she'd laid it, she started for the door only to be intercepted.

"Oh, no you don't." He said sternly, blocking the door so she couldn't leave. "You are not going out there alone, Kitty Russell."

"Who says?" Blue eyes blazed as small hands settled on her slim hips and her head came up in fury. "Let me set you straight on something, Mister. You Do NOT Run Me. I decide where I go and when. You have no say in it what so ever."

"I don't, huh?" His temper flared right along with hers. "Well, that's what you think. I'm not letting you go out there alone. Not only is it not safe, but the weather's about to turn. You're not going alone and that's final."

"Fine, then." Kitty hid the smirk. "Then you can pick me up at the Long Branch at 7 tomorrow morning." Before he could utter a word of protest, Kitty had slipped under his arm and was out the door, closing it softly behind her.

Matt took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head. "How does she do that?"

Late that evening, Matt was making his final rounds when he heard something in behind the general store. Cautiously, he drew his gun and slowly made his way down the alley beside the building. Pausing only for a moment, he took a deep breath then whipped around the corner, gun up and ready to fire. "Hold it!" He demanded.

A tiger striped alley cat looked up at him in confusion for a second before it disappeared with a small brown mouse in his mouth. Shaking his head with a smile, he'd no sooner holstered his gun when he heard even more noise coming from the front of the building.

Stiffening, he drew his gun for the second time that evening and quickly made his way back up front just in time to see a man running from the store down the street with a sack in one a hand, a gun in the other. Pausing only long enough to fire at Matt, the bandit jumped onto a nearby horse and rode west out of town as though the devil himself was behind him.

Matt fired off several shots at the fleeing bandit but he could tell he hadn't hit him.

"Mr. Dillon!" Chester's sentinel yell could be heard as he hop skipped down the street towards him. "What happened?"

"Someone broke into Jonas' store." Matt answered with a grimace as he pulled back his blood soaked sleeve to examine his arm.

"Oh, my goodness!" Chester gasped. "Ya hurt bad?" He nodded towards Matt's arm.

Matt examined the arm and shook his head. "No, no, it's not bad. Say, look. Go down to the stable and get my horse saddled for me, will ya? I'll go on up to Doc's and have him bandage this for me."

"You ain't goin' after him and you hurt, are ya?" Chester wasn't so sure the Marshal was fine as he proclaimed.

"It's nothing." Matt shook his head. "Now, go on, will ya. Meet me at Doc's office."

Despite Chester's fears, Doc concurred with Matt. It was merely a graze requiring just a few stitches and as soon as he had the wound bandaged, Matt was out of the office, on his horse and headed after the fleeing robber.

He didn't know that the man hadn't gotten too much of value. He hadn't been after money. All he knew right then, was he had a job to do.

Kitty didn't know anything of his hasty departure from town, as she had retired early that night in preparation of not only his joining her that evening, but the ride out to the Ronniger's. The next morning, realizing Matt hadn't come to her the evening before and had failed to show for their trip to the Ronniger's, she went down to the jail to find only Chester. He explained why Matt was gone, and told her he had no idea when Mr. Dillon would return.

When Kitty stated she would go alone then to the Ronniger's, Chester chided her for being stubborn and actually told her she couldn't go because Mr. Dillon wouldn't like it and suggested she needed Matt's permission before she left. That infuriated the independent red head and angrily she marched from the jail and down to the stable to get a buggy. An hour later, she swiftly drove out of town, casting an angry glance at the jail house as she passed.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Matt arrived back in town a day and a half later. Sore, tired and without a prisoner to show for it. Although it had taken a day's hard riding across the cold prairie, he'd found the man who'd robbed the general store. He'd also found the man's family. He was a poor dirt farmer who'd lost his crop in the previous year's drought. He'd stolen flour, beans and coffee for his family and a doll, for his six year old daughter, who'd never had a Christmas present in her life.

Matt knew the law better than anyone. He knew he should take the man in and jail him for breaking and entering and theft, not to mention shooting a US Marshal. But when he looked at the pale features of the little girl and the thin frame of his wife, he knew he couldn't. Instead, he gave the destitute farmer the last ten dollars he had in his pocket, accepted his promise never to do it again and spent two hours helping him to chop wood enough to last for a while.

He resolved to himself when he got back to town to pay Jonas himself for what was taken and then see if he couldn't find the farmer a job to see them through the winter. There wasn't much else he felt that he could do.

"Howdy, Mr. Dillon!" Chester greeted him when he finally made it to the jail. "You catch that fella that robbed Mr. Jonas?"

"That's a long story, Chester." Matt answered. He liked his assistant even trusted him. But he wasn't much in the mood to talk about what had happened right then. He decided he'd talk with Jonas and settle up with him first.

"Well, long or short, did ya?" Chester prodded.

"Yes." Matt sighed. "Now, will you get me a cup of coffee?"

"Well, where is he?" Chester wasn't ready to let it go.

"Chester." Matt's voice was stern.

"Yes, sir." Chester answered meekly and headed for the stove.

Removing his heavy coat, Matt hung up his gunbelt while Chester poured him a cup of the thick acrid brew he called coffee.

"Here ya go, Mr. Dillon. Nice and hot and strong. Just like you like it."

Matt took cup without comment. It actually wasn't 'just the way he liked it' but right then he wasn't arguing. It was hot and he needed that after being out in the cold so long. Taking his cup over to his desk, he sat down and put a leg up on his desk. "So, you get that gold shipment taken care of?"

"Oh, yeah." Chester answered smugly. "Mr. Bodkin weren't too happy that you weren't here yourself, but I got a couple of fellers to help me and we took care of it, alright."

"Good." Matt nodded. He'd planned on being there for that but it just couldn't be helped. "Anything else going on around here, while I was gone?"

"No, not really." Chester shrugged. "Miss Kitty ain't back from the Ronniger's yet and Doc's fussing but you know how he gets."

Matt sat straight up in his chair, sloshing his coffee on his pant leg and across his desk. "She what!?" He sputtered as he got to his feet, looking for a towel. "What do you mean she's not back yet?"

"Well, just that. She left yesterdee morning for the Ronniger's and she ain't back yet." Chester answered, puzzled at his boss's reaction.

"Are you sure? Did you check with Sam?" Matt's gut was suddenly roiling and he was beginning to get a very bad feeling.

"Well, sure I checked with Sam." Chester sounded a bit offended. "When I talked to him yesterdee, he hadn't heard from her but he weren't too worried. She told him she'd probably be gone all day afore she left."

"That was yesterday, Chester." Matt fumed. "Don't you think she should've been back by now?" He saw Chester flinch and felt a little guilty but not enough to stop his tirade. "She shouldn't have gone out there alone at all. Didn't you offer to go with her or at least try and stop her?"

"Well, I didn't offer to go with her, cause, well, with you being gone and all I figured somebody ought to stay here in town and kindly keep an eye on things. Not to mention that gold shipment coming in. But I did try and stop her. I told her you didn't want her going nowhere without your say so. I told her you'd be mad as all get out when you found out she took off like that. But, you know Miss Kitty when she gets her mind made up about something. She just ignored me. I tell ya, Mr. Dillon, you ought to have a talk with her about taking off like that. I mean she could get hurt or just anything like that."

Trying hard to ignore the fact that Chester probably gave Kitty the impression that she was owned by him instead of loved by him, Matt slammed his mug down on his desk, coming close to breaking it.

"Well, when she didn't return did you go out looking for her?" Matt knew the Ronnigers lived a distance from town but they didn't live that far and the weather, though cold hadn't impacted travel in anyway. She should've been back by now. "I mean,didn't you think something might've been wrong?" He grumbled as he got back to his feet and reached for his gunbelt.

"Wrong?" Chester looked perplexed. "Why would there anything wrong. She just went out to the Ronniger's. Good Heaven's, that ain't that far. She probably stayed an extra day with them. And besides, if there was anything wrong you know they'd come to town to get help."

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath before replying, so that he wouldn't snap Chester's head off or tear him in two.

"I mean, you know them Ronnigers." Chester kept prattling on. "They's good people. They wouldn't let no harm come to Miss Kitty, if they knew nothing about it."

"Yeah, Chester." Matt just barely controlled the venom in his voice. "If they knew anything. But what if something happened to Kitty between here and there? Huh? You think about that?"

"Oh, Mercy!" Chester turned pale. "Golly, Mr. Dillon. Honest. I never once…"

"Chester, I don't want to hear it. Look, go on down to the stable, will ya? Get our horses saddled. And hurry."

"Oh, yes, Sir." As fast as his stiffened leg would allow, Chester grabbed his hat and coat and hurried out of the jail down towards the stable.

Trying hard to control his emotions, Matt swiftly grabbed his coat and his saddle bags and headed for the general store. He needed supplies for what could be a long trip. He had no idea if anything was wrong or not. Chester could be completely right and he'd find her still at the Ronniger's helping out with the latest addition to the family, or simply enjoying time off.

But something inside of him, didn't quite believe that. Something inside of him told him she was either in trouble, or soon would be.

TBC

**AN: SusyQ and Gunsmokefan Thank you! And Martes, as always God Bless you too and Happy Holidays**


	3. Chapter 3

"Ow!" Kitty cried out as she once again stumbled and fell to her knees. She had been walking now for hours and other than somewhere out on the vast prairie, she had no idea where she was. What she did know was that she was cold and tired and hungry and she had no doubt that her situation wasn't likely to improve anytime soon.

The only hope she had was that she'd come upon a farm or a ranch or something and they would help her. So far, she'd found nothing but more prairie. But she couldn't stop. To stop would be to die out there. She had no choice but to keep going and pray for help.

Finally finding a small circle of cedar trees, Kitty gratefully entered and settled herself under the spreading boughs of the largest one. It wasn't much, but it at least knocked the cold north wind away and allowed her shelter for a few minutes while she rested. She knew it would be dangerous to stay there for too long. If she fell asleep, she'd most likely not wake up again. But she had gone as far as her exhausted body would allow, without rest of some kind.

As she sat shivering under the thick spreading branches of the cedar, she ruefully remembered her discussion with Matt. He'd warned her not to go alone. But her anger at his taking off without a word, regardless of the circumstances, and Chester's suggestion that he practically owned her, had served to propel from her Dodge with the force of a cannon.

Alone.

As he'd asked her not to be.

The trip out to the Ronniger's had seemed to prove Matt and Chester both wrong. The morning, though cold, had been sunny with hardly a breeze and the trip had been easy. There hadn't been a single problem and she made it to the Ronniger's in just under three hours.

The ever growing Ronniger family had welcomed her warmly. They were surprised and pleased with the gifts she brought, as was she with the quilt that Bess and her girls had given her. Made of scraps of fabric from old clothes as well as material she had given them over the year, it was well made and beautiful. Just like the family that had given it to her.

After a satisfying lunch of pot roast and potatoes with dried apple pie for desert, Kitty had come close to accepting the family's offer of a bed for the night when she looked outside to see that the skies had darkened some and the wind had picked up. But finally she shook her head and took her leave of them. The next day was Christmas Eve and she wanted to be back in Dodge just in case a certain someone made it back by Christmas.

Her leaving there was another thing she now regretted. She was only a couple miles away from the Ronniger's when the wind picked up speed, roaring across the prairie like a charging lion. Kitty held tightly to the reins and tried her best to not only slow the increasingly frightened horse down but get her under control.

She had just about managed it too when suddenly, a rotten branch from a large tree near the road, broke off and came crashing down on the road, kicking up debris and scaring the horse even worse. Rearing up, the mare kicked madly to be free of her burdens of buggy and passenger and took off at as fast a pace as she could.

Kitty pulled with all her strength on the reins but her efforts were futile. The horse heeded no call but that of its own fear. Hurtling down the road, it rounded a bend at a pace that the two wheeled contraption it was hauling couldn't handle.

Before Kitty could brace herself, the buggy went up on two wheels and then over onto its side. The horse continued to drag it until he got it wrapped around a tree. As soon as she was free of the heavy weight, she raced on. Kitty was tossed around like a rag doll inside the carriage. When it finally came to an abrupt halt against the side of a large oak, she fell crumpled to the ground unconscious.

How long she had lain there, she didn't know. But when she came to, she was addled and hurt and her only thought was to get herself home. Nothing was left of the buggy but its twisted frame. The horse was long gone.

Though in hindsight, it would've been better for her had she stayed with the buggy, Kitty hadn't exactly been completely coherent when she started walking. She couldn't remember how far she'd walked or even which direction she'd originally struck out in. She now figured she was headed south east and that she'd been walking for hours, but she wasn't even sure of that.

"If I ever get back to Dodge…" she sighed, declining to finish that thought as she was actually beginning to be afraid that she might never get back there. She might never see the home and man that she loved with all her might.

"Stop it!" She sternly warned herself as she wearily forced herself back to her feet and left the shelter of the tree and started to walk again, reluctantly leaving the only shelter for miles behind her.

**{{*****M&K*}}**

"Mr. Dillon!" Chester yelled to be heard over the wind that had really begun to howl. "Hold up a minute, will ya?"

Trying to hem in his irritation at any delay, Matt turned back. "What's wrong?" They were only about a mile from town and Matt knew they had a lot more ground to cover before they even got near the Ronniger's place.

"It's my horse." Chester told him as he dismounted and went around to the animal's front left foot. Picking it up, he examined it with a shake of his head. "He's pulling up for some reason. Don't appear to have no stones in his feet, but he's limping sure enough."

Matt took a deep breath. "Alright, head on back to Dodge then. No sense in ruining him by trying to keep going."

"Well, what are you gonna do?" Chester asked, not sure he leave his boss out there alone or that he wanted to walk the mile back to town.

"I'm going to find Kitty." Matt told him before he turned his buckskin and took off, leaving Chester in the dust with neither time nor room for argument.

As he rode, he tried hard to avoid thinking of all the bad things that could've happened to her. He kept telling himself that he was being silly and he would find her safe and sound at the Ronniger's. But each yard he rode, the more his mind focused on the negative and before he realized it, he had his horse at an almost full gallop.

He was about a two miles east of the Ronniger's place when he spotted something off in the distance. When he got closer, he recognized one of Moss' buggies, turned over, one wheel off. The horse and passenger nowhere to be seen.

Rushing over, Matt dismounted and frantically searched the buggy and all around it. He could find no sign of anyone other a slight smear of blood on the seat and on the side of the buggy. On the ground lay a torn package which contained a handmade quilt. Heart in his throat, Matt took note of tracks leading off north.

"Well, at least she's walking." He muttered as he picked up the quilt and threw it across his horse. When he found her, he figured she might need that. Grabbing his reins, he quickly mounted and began to follow, praying fervently that she would still be walking when he found her.

TBC

**Just another note to thank those I can't PM. You all are wonderful and I appreciate your kindness. And Debbie W, I've been spending a lot of time just sitting with my mom lately, so I've had plenty of time to write.**


	4. Chapter 4

Kitty stumbled yet again, this time falling completely to the ground. Her strength was about gone and she wasn't sure she could go much further. Carefully pulling up her skirt, she examined the fresh wound on her leg.

Not long after leaving the relative safety of the cedar tree, she'd fallen and dashed her leg against a rock, cutting a deep gash in it. Tearing a strip from her petticoat, she'd wrapped it the best she could and continued on. Pulling off the make shift bandage, she could see it was still bleeding and the flesh looked angry and raw.

Swallowing back the pain and worry, she pulled off another piece of her petticoat, wrapped the leg again and continued on. Though she had no idea of the time of day, she knew she'd been traveling for least a night and half a day.

Of course, where she'd been traveling to, she also wasn't sure of. There were no man made signs or trails on this part of the open prairie to point her in any direction and she couldn't seem to concentrate hard enough to recognize any of nature's signs. All she could think to do was just to keep walking and praying she'd find her way.

**{{*****M&K*}}**

Matt walked as quickly as he could, leading his horse and training his eyes on the ground. The tracks he'd been following had grown too faint for him to remain on his horse and ride. He was afraid if he continued to stay mounted, he might miss the one sign that could lead him to her.

Every minute that passed, the sky grew darker, the wind stronger and the air colder with a hint of moisture in it. He had a feeling it would snow before too long and that thought scared him. Kitty had already spent one night alone out here on the prairie. He couldn't bear the thought of her spending another one.

He had just come around a small clump of buffalo currant, near a fairly steep ravine, when he saw something on the ground. Hurrying over, he discovered a once white piece of cloth, now covered in blood and discarded. Next to it were tracks leading further north. Matt recognized those tracks. He'd been following them for some time.

Matt doggedly continued to follow the marks on the ground, hoping his search wouldn't last much longer as it had now begun to snow and the wind was whipping even higher.

It didn't.

He had barely covered ten yards when he spotted something else. A shoe. Rushing over, he bent to pick it up when something to his right caught his eye. Turning his head, he saw another piece of cloth clinging to a large jagged boulder near the edge of the ravine. When he stooped to retrieve the cloth, he saw Kitty.

She was lying about half way down the side of the ravine on her stomach, her limbs splayed out around her and her head to the side, revealing closed eyes. Quickly, Matt threw Buck's reins over the buffalo currant and grabbed his rope and the quilt from the saddle horn. "Kitty!" He called. "Kitty!" She didn't respond and it scared him.

Tossing the quilt across his shoulder, he tied one end of the rope to the boulder and threw it down into the ravine. Then he wrapped it around his waist and tied it. Slipping a leg over the side, he then began lowering himself down.

When Matt finally got to her, she hadn't moved and he was afraid of what he would find. But touching the pulse point at her neck, he discovered she was alive, cold, hurt and unconscious, but alive. Quickly, he took the quilt and wrapped it around her and picked her up, carefully and gently draping her across his shoulder as he grasped the rope, slowly beginning to pull them both back up.

He didn't know that the rope, which had been rubbing against the jagged rock it was tied to, was fraying badly and about to break in two. He had just neared the top, when the rope finally snapped under the pressure and gave way. Matt heard the snap, felt the laxness in the rope and tried desperately to think of a way to not only save the woman in his arms, but himself as well.

Nothing came to him as he started to slide back down. Then suddenly, the rope, he still held, became taut once again, holding both his and Kitty's weight tightly against the side of the slope. Looking up to the rim of the ravine, Matt was astounded to see an older man, long white beard and all, looking over at him.

The old man said nothing as he pulled the rope, and the two people dangling from it, up the side of the slope with surprising strength. Gripping onto the rope with one arm, Matt wrapped his other around Kitty and simply held on as he was pulled up to safety.

When he once again neared the top, the seemingly old man, wrapped the rope's length several times around the boulder and then reached out, gently pulling Kitty into his arms and laying her down on the ground, before going back and extending a hand to help Matt up.

"I sure do thank you, Mister." Matt told him. "I wasn't sure we'd make it when that rope snapped."

The man smiled but placed his hand over his mouth and shook his head, to indicate that he was mute.

"Oh. I see." Matt nodded as he pulled the rope off of him and then quickly knelt down beside Kitty. She was still unconscious, but she was still breathing. Something at least to be thankful for.

Matt looked back up at the man, hoping he wasn't deaf as well. "Mister, she's hurt. I need to get her to help. Can you help me get her up onto my horse?"

The man nodded and started towards Buck as Matt tenderly lifted Kitty into his arms. But just then a stronger gust of wind, than had been felt prior, hit them with full force. Frightened, Buck reared up, pulled his loosely wrapped reins free, and bolted, leaving the two men and Kitty behind.

"Buck!" Matt yelled, knowing as he did so his calling was futile.

The older man looked at the fleeing horse then back at Matt, his expression unreadable. Patting Matt on the shoulder, the elder man extended an arm as in invitation and then started off walking in the opposite direction from the horse.

Knowing that Kitty needed help and that the older man was the only source for that now, Matt adjusted her slight weight in his arms and followed along.

TBC

**AN: Gunsmokefan, bless you. I'll take all the prayers I can get.**


	5. Chapter 5

With an agility and speed belying his apparent age, the old man led Matt along the side of the ravine for a distance than turned sharply to the left, into a grove of trees that seemed strangely out of place in the middle of the bald prairie. But then he reminded himself, he and Kitty, following a deaf mute across frozen ground in what was turning into a blizzard, was pretty much out of place as well.

Once inside the protected copse of evergreens, the old man moved even faster if that was possible and hastily steered them to a small cabin hidden snuggly in the middle of the wooded section. Quickly throwing open the door, the old man held it tight against the whipping wind while Matt hurried inside to get Kitty out of the ever deepening snowfall.

Once the door was latched behind them, the old man pointed to a cot sitting at the back of the room, near the large stone fireplace which was merrily blazing away giving the room a soft glow and rich warmth in contrast to the gray frigidness outside.

Swiftly, Matt crossed the short distance to the wide cot and laid Kitty down. "You have any wa..." Matt looked up to see the old man standing beside him with a bowl of water and a soft cloth. "Um, uh, thank you." Matt answered, taking the bowl and cloth.

The old man merely nodded and retreated to a large rocking chair on the other side of the fireplace, sitting down heavily and turning his head to give as much privacy as the small space afforded.

Matt spared him a curious glance before pulling the quilt away from Kitty and gently and quickly ran his hands down her body to check for broken bones and other lacerations. He found more cuts and numerous bruises but nothing broken. By far her worst injuries were a large bump on the back of her head and the deep gash on her leg which looked like it was infected. He was going to have to clean that first.

The wizened old man with deep brown eyes and long white hair and beard stayed in the chair, silently watching the fire, while Matt gently cleaned Kitty's many abrasions, paying particular attention to her leg. Though Matt didn't ask, a couple of times the old man rose, grabbed the bowl, threw out the bloody water and brought it back with more clean water in it. The second time he returned, he also handed Matt several strips of white linen to be used as a bandage for her leg.

Gratefully, Matt accepted the elder man's kindness. "I appreciate your help, mister." Matt said, when he'd finally finished tying the bandage around her leg. "I…"

The white haired gentleman waved a hand and shook his head, interrupting the thanks. Getting up from his chair, he stepped over to his fireplace and lifted an ancient looking tome from the mantle. Carefully he turned the pages of the book until he found the spot he wanted then stepped over to Matt and handed it to him.

Matt accepted the book, realizing it was a bible as he did so. Looking down on the pages, he saw that it had been turned to the book of Luke, chapter ten verses twenty five to thirty seven. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Silently reading the passage, Matt closed the book and handed it back to his host with a nod of his head.

"Who is my neighbor?" The lawyer in the story had asked. Matt realized the old man was telling him he was only being neighborly.

Accepting back the treasured work, the man gave a kind smile and then pointed at Matt and Kitty before rubbing his stomach. Matt understood he was asking if they were hungry. Kitty was still unconscious but he figured she would be hungry when she woke. He refused to think that she wouldn't awaken. And he knew he was hungry, as he hadn't eaten in over twenty four hours.

Matt nodded and started up from the cot. "I'll help you."

But the man clamped a hand on Matt's shoulder and shook his head, pointing down to Kitty then lowering his hand; palm down, to indicate that Matt should stay. Patting his chest, he pointed to a kettle suspended over the fire in the fireplace. Dinner, it appeared, was already cooked, although for the life of him, Matt couldn't remember seeing it when he first came in. But then again, he was a little preoccupied when he came in.

While the old man filled two plates with stew and biscuits, Matt hastily washed his hands and face, checked once more on Kitty then moved over to the small table in the center of the room. The food smelled heavenly and Matt's stomach rumbled when it hit him. "This sure smells good, Mr…" He let it dangle as he didn't know the man's name.

Picking up the bible again, from where he'd laid it, the gentleman turned a number of pages and then laid it down on the table before Matt, pointing to the word Paul then back at himself.

"Your name's Paul?" Matt asked.

Nodding, Paul returned the bible to its sacred spot on the mantle.

Matt was glad to have a name to use at least. Though with him the only one speaking, conversation would still be difficult, it at least gave him a connection with their rescuer. He just wished the man could speak so he could ask him some questions.

Looking around the simple cabin, he saw no desk or any sort of paper in which they could exchange notes. Resigning himself to an extremely quiet evening, Matt dug into the stew, surprised at how good and filling it was. He couldn't ever remember eating anything that good in his life. "This is really good stew, Paul." Matt smiled gratefully. "I really appreciate it."

Paul smiled in returned and shrugged. The men ate in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, when a small groan was heard from the bed. Matt quickly got up and went over to the cot, sitting down beside her. "Kitty? Honey?"

Kitty didn't reply and didn't make another sound. Matt pressed his hand to her forehead and noted a slight fever but the fact that she hadn't regained consciousness worried him still more. Adjusting the quilt back over her, he stood and returned to the table. As he sat down, he saw Paul watching him intently, and though the kindly old man couldn't speak, Matt could see the question in his expression.

"She…" he stopped and licked his lips. Although telling people that she and he were friends wasn't a lie, he knew it went deeper than that and for some reason to dismiss his concern for her as merely friendship, felt like a lie this time. "She's important to me." He admitted.

The old man got up, poured two steaming cups of coffee and handed one to Matt. As he took his seat again, he pointed at Matt and then cupped both ears, repeating the gesture again. "I'm all ears." He was saying, entreating Matt to talk.

Matt took a sip of coffee, the best he'd ever tasted, and leaned back considering the old man's silent request. Realizing the man couldn't very tell anyone else what he said, and knowing that somehow, this man wouldn't if he could; Matt nodded, sat his cup down, and began. Though he had no idea why, for the first time since he'd known her, Matt began to tell someone, other than Doc, about their very special relationship.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"Kitty and I met about 8 or 9 years ago." Matt took another sip of the excellent coffee and settled back a little further into his chair. "I was the brand new Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas and she was a…" he paused. This man probably knew what a saloon girl was and what they did to earn their pay. But did he want him to know that about Kitty?

Paul looked over at Kitty, smiled and then shrugged when he looked back at Matt. Almost as if he understood what Matt was trying not to say.

"Well, she was fairly new in town too." Matt went on. "We struck up a friendship almost from the beginning. Both of us had pretty rough beginnings and both of us…" he looked down and then back over at Kitty. "Both of us had been hurt before, by others. I don't think either one of us really wanted anything but friendship at first."

He stopped again with a rueful half smile. "Well, at least I didn't. You see, I'd had a couple of serious relationships in the past and they… well they didn't quite work out too well. They wanted and needed something I didn't and couldn't give. I… I just didn't want to get hurt again. But…" He took another sip of the coffee and stood, pacing around the room for a few minutes.

"I tried to stay away from her, ya know." He nodded over at Kitty. "I was attracted to her from the first moment I saw her but I was determined not to get involved with any woman. I'm a lawman. Lawmen… they… they can't get married, ya see. They… it… it's not safe for them or the women they love. So, I kept my distance. For a while at least. But…."

His pause this time was a lot longer and Paul used the opportunity to rise and pour more coffee into Matt's cup.

Matt nodded his thanks and then looked again at Kitty before continuing. "Best laid plans." He said softly before looking back at Paul with a shrug.

"I guess you can tell that I didn't succeed in staying away from her. Like I said, I tried but I just... couldn't. She… she has a magic about her that was irresistible to me. I don't know exactly when, but one day I looked at her and I realized I didn't want to be just her friend. I wanted more and I knew she did as well."

Matt saw the raised brow of his host and understood the question.

"Kitty's not as good at hiding her feelings as I am. When Kitty loves someone, she lets them know. And she let me know in many, many ways how much she loved me. Of course that doesn't mean that she chased me. She didn't. I don't think Kitty would ever chase any man. If they didn't want her, she wouldn't hound them. No, Kitty kept her distance at first because in a way, she was as shy around me as I was her. She'd been hurt before too and… well, with what she did for a living… she… she didn't think she was good enough for me. Can you imagine that? I never thought that, but she did, at first anyway."

Matt chuckled a little; remembering the stiffness in the both of them the first year or so they were together. He glanced over at Paul and could tell that the old man understood without elaboration what he meant. "We acted awful skittish around each other for a while. But… when we finally came together…"

When Matt lapsed into silence again, Paul rose and again pulled down the bible, opening to a certain passage, putting it down in front of Matt and pointing to one line. "Faith, hope and charity (love) and the greatest of these is charity (love)."

"Yeah." Matt swallowed back a lump. He glanced back over at her. "That's what it was alright. I… I never felt anything like it before. I mean… well, I thought I had. You know, like I said there were others before her but…" he shook his head with a sigh, "but not like her. I could never love anyone like I do her."

Paul watched Matt intently but Matt had a feeling that even if he could speak, he wouldn't. He seemed to know that Matt needed and wanted to talk and he was content to sit back and listen.

"It's not been easy though, for either of us. I, uh… I suspect it won't be as long as I wear this badge and she continues to run that saloon." He shook his head. "You know, in the years that I've known her, we've encountered things that most folks never would. She's been threatened and shot and shot at. Not all because of me, mind you, but that didn't make it any easier on me. I've been shot quite a few times myself as well as various other things most men never have happen to them. But each time, I was hurt, she was there. She never fails to come to me when I need her, if she can get to me at all."

Paul pointed at Matt and then over to Kitty and raised his hands.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I always try to do the same for her. It's hard to explain, but that's just how we are."

Just then, Kitty moaned again slightly and Matt jumped up and hurried over to her. "Kitty?"

Kitty didn't answer as she moved restlessly on the cot, and continued to moan. Matt checked her forehead, noting her temperature had risen higher. He started up to get some water and once again, Paul had beaten him to the punch by already being there with another bowl of cool water and a cloth. The speed and quietness of the old man was surprising but right then Matt didn't have the time to question it. His concern wasn't with his host.

Nodding his thanks, Matt took the cloth, dipped it in the water and gently sponged her chest and forehead. Several times he repeated his treatment until she settled down a little. Moving the cover off of her leg, he gently untied the bandage and examined the wound. It had stopped bleeding, but the wound was raw and puckered with infection.

Swallowing hard, he looked up at his host. "As soon as this storm breaks, I'm going to have to get her back to Dodge, to the doctor there, even if I have to carry her all the way. She's hurt bad."

Paul nodded, pointed to his own chest, held out his arms as though there was a weight in them. He was offering his help.

"I appreciate that." Matt told him. Re-wrapping her leg, Matt pulled the cover back over her and stood, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, before moving back over to the table and reclaiming his chair. "I sure do hate to see her hurt." His voice was soft and sad. "I've seen her that way a few times and each time it scares the life out of me. Ever since I realized I loved her, I also realized how much it bothered me to see anything happen to her. I get upset over a hang nail when it comes to her."

He looked up to see a slight upturn of Paul's mouth and felt himself smile in return for a second. "I know that sounds silly but that's the way it is. I try not to show it. She's an awfully independent woman and she hates for me to hover over her or treat her like she's made of glass or something. But sometimes, I can't help it. Of course that doesn't mean I've always been there to keep her from getting hurt or what ever. This badge doesn't often leave me the time to do that. But when I can, I try hard to be there, to make sure no one comes near her that would harm her."

Paul looked at him questionably and somehow Matt knew what he was asking. "Yeah, I know. I can't protect her from everything. But I can try. You know there's been quite a few times that I've thought about just chucking everything, grabbing her and just taking off. Just leaving the frontier all together and taking her some place where nobody could hurt her or me either."

Matt looked down with a mournful sigh. "But I keep remembering the reason I do what I do and then I get so confused and... I want to do what's best for her, for us and this badge but they're not all three the same and… and…" He shook his head. "I don't know. There are times like this that I truly have no idea what should come first."

Paul, one last time, opened the oft read book and quickly turned the pages. When he found what he wanted, he stepped over to Matt and placed it in front of him. As before, he pointed directly to a passage and then patted Matt on the arm. Leaving him to read it, he stepped over to Kitty and wiped her fevered brow again with the cool wet cloth while he let Matt read.

Matt studied him for a moment, still not sure why he trusted this stranger so implicitly, especially around Kitty. But there was something about him that Matt just knew was pure goodness and he did. Finally, he turned his eyes back to the bible and looked down at the passage that Paul had pointed out to him.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Finally, Matt turned his eyes back to the bible and looked down at the passage that Paul had pointed out to him. _Ecclesiastes 3. To everything there is a purpose and a time for every purpose under heaven._

Matt glanced up to see Paul's knowing smile. "Guess you're right about that. Maybe now's just not the time." He sighed suddenly feeling extremely tired.

Paul must've noticed, because he stood and pointed to the cot where Kitty lay and then pointed at Matt.

Matt frowned, not at all sure he should do that, but then he reminded himself, he'd already told Paul everything there was to tell about him and Kitty. If the man was suggesting he lay down beside her, than Paul obviously wasn't offended or even shocked at their relationship. And though a part of him warned that he shouldn't go to sleep in the presence of a total stranger, for some reason, he trusted this old man. And he was exhausted.

Wearily getting to his feet, Matt nodded. "I guess, you're right." He smiled at his host. "If I'm gonna get her back to Dodge tomorrow, I'm gonna need some sleep."

Crossing over to the cot, Matt paused and looked around the room. There wasn't another cot in the room. "Where are you going to sleep?"

Paul patted him on the shoulder with a smile and a shake of his head, pointing to the large rocker he'd occupied most of the night. Patting his chest, he raised his hand making an okay sign with his thumb and index finger.

Matt nodded again. He knew the only place for Kitty to sleep was in that cot and the only place where he could sleep was right beside her, so lifting back the covers, he gently moved her over a little and then lay down beside her. Looking over at Paul, he gratefully smiled. "I appreciate all you've done for us, Paul."

Paul shook his head and nodded towards the bible one last time. Without words, he'd conveyed to Matt how he felt about it. His responsibility was to do unto others as he'd have done unto him.

With a deep breath, Matt pulled Kitty tightly into his arms and then closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"You think he's ever gonna wake up, Doc?" Chester's voice was plaintive and loud and it roused the sleeping law man.

"Well, of course, he's going to wake up, Chester." Doc answered in an exasperated tone. "I've already told you that. He was hurt and sick but not dead. Besides, he has too fine a doctor for anything less than a complete recovery."

Chester cast him a glare and a snort of distrust.

Doc started to address that when he noticed Matt awake and staring at them. "Well, would you look at that?" He grinned with an elbow to Chester's ribs. "See, I told you he'd be alright. Good to see ya awake, Matt." Doc stepped over to him, placing a cool hand on his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Matt didn't answer right off as he looked around him. He was in Doc's office, in his back room. Kitty was no where to be seen. "Kitty!" He groaned as he tried to get up.

Swiftly, yet gently, Doc pushed him back down. "Now you just lay right back there, Mr. Marshal. Kitty's just fine. She won't be up dancing for a while yet, but she's doing well. Better than you are, anyway."

"How…' Matt stopped and licked his dry lips. Nothing was making sense. "How did we get here?"

"Me, Will Ronniger and his son's brought you in, Mr. Dillon." Chester spoke up.

Doc nodded. "When you didn't come back to town, Chester got another horse and headed out. He found the buggy but figured he might need some help, so he went on to the Ronniger ranch."

"It was too dark though when I got there so we had to wait til morning to come but as soon as it was daylight, we set out. We found your horse standing alone near a ravine north of here and you and Miss Kitty at the bottom of it. Heaven's, we had the devil's own time getting you two out of there."

"What? N… No, it… it was Paul. He helped us." Matt insisted, pulling himself up, regardless of Doc's protests. "He pulled us out of there. He… he…"

"Who's Paul?" Doc questioned glancing up at Chester. He was beginning to think the bump Matt took on the back of his head was worse than he thought.

"There wasn't anyone around there, Mr. Dillon." Chester frowned.

When Matt didn't answer, Doc reached out and checked his forehead again. "Well, there's no fever."

Matt finally looked back up at Doc. "It… it's… Never mind."

Doc wanted to ask more but he changed his mind deciding Matt was just not yet himself and perhaps still suffering from the effects of the concussion he'd suffered. "Well, alright." He turned for the door, pushing Chester aheah of him. "You get some rest, Matt and I'll check on you later. You've been out of it for a couple of days now and you need it."

"Doc?" Matt stopped him before he closed the door.

"Yeah?"

"What day is it?"

"Two days after Christmas." Doc answered. "They found you two Christmas morning."

Matt sat back, shaking his head. How could they have found them Christmas morning? It was Christmas Eve when he and Kitty were at Paul's place. And how could Will and Chester and his sons pull them out of the ravine when he distinctly remembered Paul doing it?

About an hour after Doc and Chester left him, a knock came at the door. "Come in." Matt called.

When the door opened, Kitty came in, limping and leaning heavily on Sam's arm. "Matt? Are you okay?" She asked anxiously.

"Kitty!" Matt sat up a little. "You shouldn't be up on that leg." He looked reprovingly at Sam. "Sam, you shouldn't have let her."

"Marshal, I tried. But…"

"Hush." Kitty shook her head at him as she carefully sat down on the bed beside Matt. "You have nothing to apologize for, Sam. I made you help me." She smiled up at her bartender. "Thank you. You can go on back now. I'll be fine here."

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded and turned for the door, before stopping and looking back. "You want me to come back for you in an hour or so?"

Kitty glanced over at Matt then shook her head. "No, don't worry about it, Sam. I'm fine and I'll get back."

With a curt bob of his head, Sam exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"Doc's going to have your head, Kitty." Matt warned. "You should be staying in bed with that leg."

Kitty laughed. "Curly told me the same thing. But he knows me better than that. Once I heard you were awake, no power on earth could keep me out of here."

Matt reached out and took her hand. "Well, I'm glad to see you anyway. Doc did say you were going to be alright."

Kitty nodded. "Yeah. He said my leg was infected and I had a bad hit to the head but I'd be fine. Of course, I wouldn't have been if you hadn't found me. Doc said that as cold as it was, me and you both would've died if we hadn't been holding each other with that quilt around us."

Matt didn't answer as his mind went back to the old man, Paul. He was real. Matt knew he was. He could still taste the delicious meal he'd been served and still remembered the bible he'd held in his hands as Paul had used it to communicate with him. And yet…

"Matt?" Kitty tugged at his hand when he lapsed into silence. "Is something wrong?"

Matt looked up at her, with a grateful smile. "No, honey. I'm just so glad that you're alright. I was so scared when I saw you in that ravine. Until I got down there to you, I thought you might already be dead. I've never been so worried."

Kitty shook her head with a sigh. "To be honest, I don't remember too much at all about it. I remember wandering around the prairie, cold and tired. And I sorta remember falling down into the ravine. But after that, not so much. Well, except for the old man I dreamed up."

Matt snapped to attention. "Old man?"

"Um hum." Kitty nodded. "I seem to remember lying on a cot, with you beside me and some older gentleman with a long white beard and hair standing beside you. But I know that's impossible no matter how real it seemed."

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her about Paul, but Matt kept his silence. Now in the cold light of day, in the real and familiar back room of Doc's, Matt wasn't so sure that Paul really had existed. If what Doc had told him, there was no way he could've been real.

Matt instead, simply smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: One last thank you to everyone who has stayed with me on this and has been so sweet to review. I don't claim to be a great writer but I do claim to be a great fan of this show and it's wonderful characters and it's so nice to see how many others share that love with me. Merry Christmas.**

A couple of weeks later, Matt was back to work. Paul, though he hadn't disappeared from Matt's memory, was pushed back into the far reaches of his mind to perhaps be pulled out and examined on those long nights spent on the trail when he could do nothing else. But not right then. Right then, he had something much more interesting to think about.

Matt stopped outside the doors of the Long Branch and took one last look around the quiet streets. The cold from Christmas hadn't abated and had been actively serving as an effective crime deterrent. He doubted he would have any trouble with spoilers, which meant he just might be able to spend his evening someplace much more comfortable than the jail cot.

Pushing on into the saloon, Matt made his way over to the end of the bar where Kitty stood going over her books. "Kitty." He tipped his hat to her with a grin. "How are you tonight?"

Kitty looked up with happy smile. "Hello, Matt. I'm alright. How about you?"

"Just fine." He answered as he noticed and then took a curious glance at an older man, standing just a ways down the bar.

Kitty noticed where his gaze was directed. "Something wrong, Matt? You know him?"

"Uh, no." Matt shook his head. It couldn't be, he thought as he forced his attention back to her. "How's business tonight?"

An arched brow let her to know his real reason for asking. "Oh, fine. Doesn't look like we'll be open late though. I figure I'll close down around eleven or so." She tilted her head provactively and Matt's grin widened.

"Is that a fact?" Upon her answering nod and wink, he stepped back and turned for the door. "Well, then, ma'am, I guess I'll see you..." He stopped when he got a better look at the old man across from him.

Noticing, Kitty gave Matt a look of concern. "Uh, you alright, Matt? You look a little pale."

Matt swallowed hard. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. He didn't exist. He knew that now. Didn't he? "No, no, I'm fine." He shook his head with a forced smile. "It... it's just..." He saw the old man put his glass down and head out of the saloon. Quickly, he followed after him without another word to Kitty.

Hurrying to the door and out to the darkened streets beyond, Matt was intent on catching up to the elderly gent. He wanted to talk to him and find out just who he was.

But when he reached the street, he saw no one. There wasn't a soul stirring. The stores were all closed so he knew he couldn't have gone into any of them. He couldn't be riding or walking out of town in any direction without Matt seeing him. And even if he'd ducked down an alley, Matt would've still been able to hear him. Nothing. He had completely disappeared.

"Matt?"

Matt jumped and turned to see Kitty standing beside him, a curious expression on her face. "Want to tell me what's going on? And don't say nothing. You knew that man, or at least thought you did."

Matt stood silently and continually scanning the streets before finally looking back down at her. "I don't know, Kitty." He sighed. "Right now, I'm not sure I know much of anything other than its cold out here and I want a whiskey." Smiling, he took her arm. "Come on; let me buy you a drink."

Kitty willingly went inside with him, but she wasn't fooled. There had been something between Matt and the white haired old man. What, she didn't know but she figured sooner or later, he'd tell her.

When they reached the bar, Matt ordered them both a drink and then stopped Sam when he finished pouring their drinks. "Sam, that old man that was in here. Did he say who he was?"

Sam shook his head. "No, sir, he didn't. Or at least not to me. He just stood there quietly and drank his water and then left."

"Water?" Matt and Kitty exchanged puzzled glances. Not too many people went into a saloon to drink water.

"Yes, Sir." Sam confirmed.

"He only asked for water?" Kitty asked with a frown.

"Well, no, Ma'am." Sam shrugged. "He didn't exactly _ask_ for anything. He just pointed to the picture of water and the glass and threw a nickle on the bar for it. I figured he either couldn't talk or didn't want to. Was something wrong with him? I mean, he didn't cause any problems."

"Matt?" Kitty and Sam both looked at him curiously. "Why the interest in the old man?" Kitty asked.

Matt stood back and stood his head. "It... It's nothing, Kitty. Nothing at all."

Kitty let it go for then but she figured later she'd find out.

After the saloon was closed and cleaned and Sam had gone home, Matt and Kitty made their way upstairs to the only home either of them really knew. Nothing more had been said about the old man and the both of them were content in that. Matt had just about convinced himself that he'd merely been imagining things, both two weeks before and that night as well. He figured he had to have been. Nothing else made sense.

After unlocking her door, Kitty and Matt entered and immediately set to making themselves comfortable for the night. It was when Matt sat down on the side of the bed, that he noticed it and his heart raced for a moment. Kitty had gone into the water closet and wasn't there to see what he had found.

There, lying on the pillow that he always used, was a bible. But not just any bible. It was the same careworn tome that Paul had used several times during that long Christmas eve that wasn't. Picking it up cautiously, Matt saw that it was turned to a particular page in Acts. Chapter 19 vs 11. Next to that verse was a note to look under Ecclesiastes. The same verse Matt had read before.

Next to that particular passage was a handwritten note.

"It's not time for you to know it all, but you know enough and you love enough for now. Do not worry about the rest."

Matt stared at the page for several long moments before finally closing the sacred tome. He knew enough? About what? About Kitty? Could it be that this 'Paul' had saved he and Kitty so that he would actually think about his and her relationship and what it meant to him?

Taking a deep breath, Matt thought about a few months prior when he'd left her to go to Topeka and what happened while he was gone. And he thought of other times when they'd disagreed. Was this merely someones way of teaching him and perhaps Kitty what was really important?

Matt snapped the book closed just as he heard Kitty coming back into the room. Quickly, he covered it over with the shirt he'd just removed and laid it carefully on a chair.

Kitty noticed. "Gonna tell me now about that old man and what your hiding in your shirt?" She asked.

"Old man?" He tried to pretend he didn't remember but she was having none of it.

"Yeah, that old man in the saloon tonight. The old man that looked so much like the one I thought I dreamed up and the one you chased into the street."

"Oh, that old man." He stalled, trying to decide if he should say anything or not.

Kitty sat down beside him and reached over, taking his hand. "I don't remember Christmas Eve or even much of Christmas day, Matt. But I do know something happened, aside from us falling in the ravine and Chester and Will fishing us out. And I have a feeling you know what that is. Now are you going to tell me or not?"

Matt pursed his lips for a moment, before turning to her, and pulling her close. "Nope. As a very nice man once told me recently, it's not time yet. Okay?"

Kitty considered his words and the look on his face as he said them. "Okay." She finally nodded with a sigh. "I won't push. I trust you'll tell me when it is time."

"I will." He answered. 'As soon as I know when that time is.' He thought.

The End.

Acts 19:11, Ecclesiastes 3:1


End file.
